You Make Me Feel
by BobWhite
Summary: Detectives Benson & Finn are sent up to Toronto to arrest a prime suspect in one of there cases. Full Summary inside. Pls R&R 2 find out more.
1. Abusive Secret

**Full Summary:**

An abused cop, her murdering husband, the SVU Detectives, and the 15th all clash. What happens when the cop is beaten nearly to death by her husband? What happens when the SVU Detectives from New York venture to Toronto looking for the man that murdered six women in the city? What happens when the 15th find out what happened to the cop and that her husband is wanted for murder in New York?

**Abusive Secret:**

**Smithers Home:**

"Charlie, stop, you're hurting me! Stop!"

"Shut up Bitch!"

Charlie yelled as he hit and beat and kicked Cleara harder with every smack. She hit the ground and was kicked again. He was drinking again, he was always drinking. She felt his foot make contact with her ribs and then again with her stomach. She gasped as he kicked her over and over again. She would have screamed but she couldn't because she couldn't breathe. She didn't know why he was mad this time but if she had to guess, it had something to do with her job as a cop.

They had lived in New York for a short while and while living there, Charlie had managed to get dragged into the SVU Squadroom a few times. The Detectives were never able to do anything because Cleara was never able to press charges. Charlie always made sure of that. He had been a lawyer and he knew how to use the system against his own wife. He'd paid for her to go to school, in which she chose to become a cop to have at least some control over her own life. She soon learned that he now held that power over her since he paid for her to go to school.

When they moved to Toronto, she learned that there was no escaping what he was doing to her. She couldn't go to the cops she now worked with because they didn't trust her at all. She couldn't call the Detectives because Charlie would find out. And she couldn't go to the hospital because he would just follow her and drag her out.

All of a sudden the beating stopped. He bent down and looked at Cleara and then stood up and walked out the door. None of the neighbors had heard because he had been clever enough to put music on so they couldn't hear anything. She knew that she had to work in the morning and knew that he knew as well. He sure as hell wasn't going to beat her to the point where others could see what he'd done to her.

Cleara picked herself up from the ground and entered the bathroom where she got herself cleaned up and got in the shower. Being mindful of her sore ribs and bruises that were starting to show, Cleara washed herself and made herself as clean as she could get without scoring her skin from her body. Every time he came at her, she wanted to score the skin from her body, but she knew that sooner or later, he was going to pay for what he was doing whether he liked it or not.

She got out of the shower, put her pajamas on, set her alarm and got into bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. Tomorrow was the start of the keeping the secret a secret yet again.

**New York:**

Detectives Benson and Stabler were still working the same case they had been working when the Smithers had moved. Charlie Smithers was still one of the prime suspects but because he had moved across boarders to a different country, they had no way of arresting him. They wished that Cleara hadn't gone with him but knew that if she had stayed, he would have killed her just to get out of the country and away from the Detectives.

There were four dead women so far and they feared that there would be more now that Charlie was in a new city. They knew that he beat Cleara but because she never pressed charges, they had been able to do nothing. they were keeping an eye on the Canadian Boarder just in case he came back into the country that way but they could only do so while in the state of New York.

Four dead women, one prime suspect and no way to get to him without crossing jurisdiction in order to get to him. They were all steamed but they knew that they had a job to do. Captain Craigen was on the phone with one of Toronto's Superintendent's in charge of the precincts trying to get some of his detectives into one of the precincts to look out for there murder suspect. He had already gone through four superintendents and so far no luck. He was hoping this fifth one would give in and allow the detectives to go up and catch the guy.

If they were given permission, Benson and Tutuola would be going because Cleara trusted the two detectives with her life and because they were the ones that had told her what her husband really was. If anyone could get Cleara to finally press charges against Charlie Smithers, it was going to be Benson and Tutuola (or Finn as everyone called him). What was worse was they knew that they would most likely find Cleara either in the hospital or on the verge of going into the hospital. Charlie wasn't known to beat lightly unless he didn't want to get caught.

The Detectives prayed that they weren't too late in catching Charlie or rescuing Cleara from Charlie…


	2. Toronto, Canada

**Toronto, Canada:**

**The 15****th**** Division:**

Cleara walked into the 15th and headed for the locker room. She knew she was early, well earlier then everyone else. She was a new cop at the 15th and she wanted to change before anyone had a chance to see any of her bruises. If they saw the bruises, she would have to lie yet again. It was her second week on the job and she knew that most of the T.O.'s and some of the not so Rookie Cops already didn't like her, but she couldn't help it. Keeping the secret was all that was on her mind most days, (and if someone did find out, Charlie would probably kill her before she had a chance to ask for help).

By the time Parade had started, Cleara could tell that everyone thought she was some kind of suck-up for being so early to begin with. She didn't really care. They could think she was a suck-up all they wanted, they would never find out the real truth. She didn't know how any of the cops she now worked with would handle the news and figured that they probably wouldn't care since she was just a Rookie on Probation for the first three months of the job. If they didn't like her after three months, they would just fire her, which she hoped they didn't. Getting fired meant more time at home getting beaten. Getting fired meant more time at home waiting for Charlie to get home. Getting fired meant more time thinking about her life and everything that had happened (seeing as she didn't dare think about that stuff now).

A the moment, as Best read the morning announcements and read off the car assignments, Cleara was too busy deciding if she should go home that night. When Best was standing right in front of her, she looked up. His arms were folded and everyone was holding back snickers. He told her to get out of uniform and to go home until she could get her head on straight. He couldn't have an officer on the street that didn't have her head in the game. She stood up, slowly and in pain but didn't show it, and headed to the locker room. She changed into civilians and was about to pull her shirt down over her back when someone walked in. She pulled it down roughly, put her jacket on, grabbed her purse, and turned around. Peck's face said it all; she had seen the bruises. She tried to stop Cleara as she walked out the door but to no avail. She watched Cleara leave the station and then left the locker room as well and went to see Best. This was something he needed to hear.

**Permission Granted:**

Detective Benson and Finn were headed to Toronto, to find and arrest Charlie Smithers for rape and murder. They were also headed to see if they could persuade Cleara Smithers to testify against her husband. If anything, they would at least bring to light what her husband has been doing to her; if they could get the 15th to actually help in arresting Charlie. According to Superintendent Peck, who had given them the permission to come up and extradite Charlie, the 15th had met Charlie when he visited his wife at work; they were all friendly with Charlie. They needed to find Cleara before Charlie was able to hurt her any worse than he might have already.

They had packed at least two weeks of clothes and were flying up via a jet loaned to them from the department. With extradition papers in hand, they headed for the airport, their guns on their hips and badges on their belts. They got through security perfectly fine and headed for the plane that was waiting for them. As soon as they were on the plane and it was ready to take off, they breathed a little sigh of relief. Superintendent Peck would be waiting for them at the airport to take them to the 15th, where they would find the girl they were looking for as well as the man that they were looking for. They relaxed a little knowing that plans were being put into action as they headed to Toronto.

**The Beating:**

Cleara unlocked her apartment door and moved inside quietly. She knew that Charlie wasn't going to be home for another hour or so, so she needed to figure out what she was going to do when he got home. If she lied and told him that she had been injured on the job, would he buy the lie from her? She had told him a few lies here and there but this one would be the most challenging of all to tell him. She knew that he had people watching her every move while she was working so if they told him that she was sent home shortly after parade for daydreaming, she wouldn't be able to come up with a good enough lie in time to save her own skin.

Too bad she didn't realize that Charlie hadn't gone to the bar that day or hadn't even left the house. He had come home after she had left just to wait for her to come home. He wasn't expecting her to come home so early which sparked his curiosity a little. He left their room and went out into the kitchen to see her gingerly pouring herself a cup of water. He watched as she turned around and then just stopped as she saw the look on his face, one she had never seen before. He was next to her before she could think. The water glass slipped from her fingers as he grabbed her around the throat, shoving her into the counter and cabinets, demanding an answer.

"Why are you home so early?"

"Best sent me home because I wasn't feeling well. He told me that he didn't need any of his other officers getting sick so he sent me home. Honest, that's the truth."

"Don't, don't you dare lie to me!"

"I'm not lying Charlie, that's what happened."

"Keep telling me that and you'll see what will happen. But because your home, we can have a little fun now, can't we."

He laughed wickedly and dragged her into the bedroom. She knew better than to fight back when things like this happened. It was something she was used to, but she also knew that the detectives were trying to gain access to Toronto to find Charlie and extradite him back to New York and hopefully find her as well and keep her safe. Safety, for now, would have to wait. She needed to fight for her life and it wasn't going to happen if her head wasn't in the game.

He flung her on the bed, but she bounced off and hit the wall. He came at her, fist flying and legs kicking. She ran passed him and back into the living room. He came after her and right as she grabbed the door handle, he grabbed her by her hair and yanked her backwards. The scream ripped from her lips as he flung her backwards. Her head hit the edge of the counter and she slid to the floor, unconscious. He continued to kick her and beat her long after she lost consciousness. As soon as she started coming around, he immediately grabbed her up by her hair and dragged her into the bathroom. He found his extra razor blades and dragged her into the kitchen. There was no escaping what he was about to do and she knew it. He threw her onto the ground and straddled her legs to keep her from kicking him. He pulled her shirt up and with her arms secured under his knees, proceeded to cut into her with the razor. She screamed, she kept screaming until he was finished. By the time he was finished, all the anger had left him and as he stood up, he discarded the razor on the floor, kicked Cleara a few more times, washed his hands in the sink, got changed into different clothes and headed out the door. He sure as hell wasn't going to be home if someone came looking for his wife.

**Finding Cleara:**

Peck had walked immediately to where Best was talking to Jerry and asked if they could speak. They walked into Best's office and Peck told them what she had seen. She told them about the bruises on Cleara's back, how she had walked out with fear in her eyes and even how she'd seen the pain in her eyes when she'd gotten up during parade to go change out of her uniform. They listened and when she was done, there was only one clear thing to do. They had to go to Cleara's apartment to see if she was okay. Gail, Dov, Andy and Sam all headed over o Cleara's apartment with Jerry and Tracy following. There was no need to say anything during the ride. They all knew where her head had been that morning now that Gail had told what she had seen. Keeping a secret as bad as spousal abuse could be deadly for the spouse, if they didn't press charges. And assuming that Cleara hadn't pressed charges, they needed to see for themselves if she was okay.

Charlie had left five minutes before the cop cars pulled up outside. He was still sitting in his car when the cops got out and headed up the stairs to his apartment. He pulled out of his parking spot and headed in the opposite direction of his normal bar. He was headed to a bar in which Cleara knew nothing about. He was headed to Big Nickel so nobody would be able to find him. There was no way they were going to blame him for beating Cleara if he wasn't in the same city at the time she was found. He laughed silently to himself as he headed to the interstate and got stuck in a traffic jam, which was also a good alibi if anyone asked him questions about where he had been. Lord knows that the traffic was going to be jammed up for hours.

Sam and Andi with Gail and Dov on either side of the door and Jerry and Tracy behind them all made ready to enter the apartment. They had knocked a few times but had gotten no answer. They knew that Cleara was home because she normally didn't hang out anywhere that they knew of when she was off. Sam kicked the door in and they made entry. The living room and kitchen were cleared first, but a blood trail leading them to the bathroom made them hurry up a little more. They checked the rest of the apartment before moving to the bathroom. All guns were drawn as they did not know what they would find.

Cleara had regained consciousness and had dragged herself to the bathroom, plugging the drain in the tub and turning on the cold water. She knew that if she wanted to stop the bleeding and lessen her chance of dieing, then she needed to lay in a bath of cold water, which would hopefully stop the bleeding and let her get some rest. She knew that she should have been in the hospital by now, but she also had to be up in the morning. There was no way she was going to let anyone know about the abuse that was going on in her house. Too bad she didn't know that Gail had gotten a few other officers together and they were now searching the apartment.

Gail opened the door quietly, not expecting to find much in the way of anybody inside, but judging by the amount of blood knew better than anybody that there was going to be somebody inside. She pushed the door open and noticed a leg sticking out of the tub. The shower curtain was pulled closed and the light wasn't on, but there was no doubt about it; a leg was sticking out of the tub. Dov moved into the bathroom as Andi switched the light on. He grabbed the shower curtain while still holding his gun in his other hand, took a deep breath and pulled the curtain aside. What he saw made him put his gun away almost immediately.

Cleara was lying submerged in the water and the water had turned blood red. Thinking fast, he moved to unplug the tub and grabbed a towel in the process, but Sam pushed him aside as the water emptied. Neither saw any cuts or slashes on her wrists which meant that Cleara hadn't tried to kill herself. But the question still lingered: where was all the blood coming from? Once all the water had drained, Sam wrapped the towel around Cleara and lifted her from the tub. She was breathing and she had a pulse, she just wasn't conscious. He kept her in his arms and moved out to the kitchen. He lay her on the counter with a dry towel under her body and moved to check the rest of her body for injuries. The blood had to be coming from somewhere.

As Sam moved her shirt from her abdomen, the officers got the shock of their life. Under her shirt, her abdomen and chest had been cut up, like someone wanted to cause her as much pain as possible. The water had been cold when Dov had unplugged the tub and let the water drain, undoubtedly to try and stop the amount of blood loss. Sam picked Cleara back up in his arms and they left the apartment, heading to their cars and heading straight for the hospital. Sam got into the back of his patrol car as Andi got in front and the three cop cars sped for St. Patrick's Hospital as Sam tried to get Cleara to wake up, with no such luck. There was no way they hadn't known that something this bad had been happening to one of their own officers and not seen it.

Will Cleara make it to the hospital alive? And will she live? What happens when the Detectives show up and explain that it was her husband that had done this to her and that he is the reason they are in Toronto to begin with?

More to come in the next chapter…


End file.
